In 1985, U2 performed at Live Aid in Wembley stadium. It was the first time I had ever seen the band, and I was quite intrigued by their electrifying performance. It was a incredible display of everything that the day stood for. The long-haired, lead singer, dressed in a black military coat and sweating profusely, reached out his arms and embraced the whole audience. It was a captivating and magical experience, and I was only watching it from my television.
That performance was a turning point in my life. Up until then, I was a 13 year old Duran Duran fan, madly infatuated with the pretty boys of pop music. My teenage mind was blown away after witnessing this unusual Irish rock band. Immediately after I went and bought my first U2 album, the Unforgettable Fire, and since then have never looked back, in terms of my musical taste.
Since that time, the world has changed and so has the music of U2. But now it seems that this seemingly cool lead singer of U2 has been voted uncool by Melody Maker magazine. At first glance of this list, I was a little shocked and angry. How could someone with so much essence be voted "uncool". After a little pondering, I realized that Melody Maker was right, Bono is not cool.
To me, the word cool is associated with a certain disposition reflected by a slick or a bad-ass attitude. A person who is cool may be on top of things and knows where he/she is going. That person is confident and knows how to get over and around people, and always looks good. A cool person has the right look and never stumbles over words.
Well this is certainly not Bono. As confident as he might be, he rarely seems to know where he is going. According to his bandmates, he’s forgetful and forever loosing things. He has a habit of exaggerating stories and has even been known to get lost in his own city of Dublin. And although he’s never at a loss for words, his mouth has often gotten him into trouble with his critiques. In a way he seems like an overgrown child always looking for trouble and often getting caught.
On the other hand, I happen to believe that Bono’s childish ways make him endearing to all U2 fans. His irresponsible behavior is often pushed aside due to his thoughtfulness and passion. His song writing ability makes up for his insecurities and that’s not something you quite often find in music today.
By the way, I’m not here to criticize the music on the charts. Everyone has the right to sing about how they feel. And we, as fans, should be allowed to hear what we want. I do think that Britney Spears and N’Sync are very talented and entertaining, but U2’s music is much more then that. Their music is not about looking pretty or sounding good. For me, its about looking into my heart and soul and searching for the truth. Its spiritual and visceral. It’s about having faith in such faithless times. It’s not about being cool.
So Bono is "uncool." Well that’s okay. A cool person probably wouldn’t be in a band like U2 anyway. They probably would not get involved with organizations like Amnesty International or Jubilee 2000. A cool person wouldn’t be happily married with children and they would definitely not have lasted the 20 years, that U2 have.
So if you take all of these things into perspective and wrap them up into one person, you get Bono, in all of his "uncoolest" glory. And although I don’t like to speak for people I don’t know, I would like to think that most U2 fans and Bono would agree that being "uncool" is the best thing about U2 (actually Larry has defined himself as being cool, but he’s another story ;). Bono once said that he didn’t mind growing old because he knew that when he reached 60, he’d finally be cool. Well, speaking as a U2 fan Bono, I hope that never happens.
